


A Lick Of Salt

by misura



Category: Vorkosigan Saga - Lois McMaster Bujold
Genre: Book: Ethan of Athos, M/M, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2004-12-06
Updated: 2004-12-06
Packaged: 2018-01-25 07:29:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,348
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1638959
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/misura/pseuds/misura
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Janos comes to live with Ethan and finds out it's not quite what he'd hoped for.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Lick Of Salt

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Русский available: [Соленый аромат](https://archiveofourown.org/works/6504454) by [jetta_e_rus](https://archiveofourown.org/users/jetta_e_rus/pseuds/jetta_e_rus)



> Written for Pun

[The Fragrance Of Salt]

To say that Ethan hadn't missed the place he still thought of as 'home' would be lying. It *did* feel good to see all the familiar faces of his youth again, to watch the work at the fish farm, to walk the beaches in the evening that seemed utterly quiet, compared to what Ethan had grown used to in Sevarin.

Even if he rationally knew the people who labored here worked at least as hard as those in the city, life still seemed more peaceful here, less hurried and hectic. It might be Ethan's imagination - in fact, it probably was - but everybody seemed to be smiling here, content with the way things were, and with life in general.

"What are you thinking about?"

Well, nearly everybody. Ethan didn't quite know why Janos was still here if he disliked the work at the fish farm so much. After all, he was free to leave at any time, if he'd rather take another job. Janos was young and healthy; there'd be plenty of places where he could find employment.

"My departure." To anyone else, Ethan might have felt a slight embarrassment to admit this, since they might get the impression he hadn't enjoyed his stay here, but he thought Janos might understand. Or at least not jump to any conclusions.

"Oh yeah, you're leaving again tomorrow." Janos nodded. Ethan wasn't sure if there was a hint of disappointment in Janos' voice. It seemed unlikely, given that Janos apparently hadn't even bothered to remember Ethan telling him the date of his departure at least three times before.

"Yes," Ethan replied, just to say *something*. He'd have liked his response to be more energetic, more inviting to further conversation, but even with Janos, such things felt awkward. He could lose himself for hours in discussions about biology with his colleagues, yet in the breaks in between work, he could only listen to them making small talk, feeling slightly overwhelmed and hopelessly inadequate.

Having visitors underestimate his knowledge and expertise simply because he was a junior member of the team, and looking young for his age as well, didn't help much to build his confidence either, though most of them left with the remark that they'd certainly recommend him to others.

"Glad to return to the city?" Janos asked, in a tone that indicated he knew the answer to that already.

"I want to go back," Ethan confessed, thinking of his work. To create life itself ... How could he *not* want to go back to that? Naturally, his temporal replacement would be more than skilled enough to deal with any tasks that'd come his way, and it wasn't as if his position was so important that he couldn't be spared for a few weeks, yet part of him kept protesting that he should be there, back in the Reproduction Center, instead of here.

"It must be great there." Janos sighed dreamily, a near-smile on his face.

"It is. Even if they don't have anything like this." Ethan gestured to the beach. "It's nearly all buildings, wherever you look. Buildings and people." He considered for a moment, wanting to be exact, to give Janos a proper image of the city. "Well, there's a few parks, of course ... "

Ethan hadn't really visited Sevarin's parks all that often. In fact, he reflected, he hadn't really visited *any* part of Sevarin all that often, aside from the places he passed en route to the Reproduction Center. He had never felt any compulsion to go exploring, any desire to meet new people.

Well, unless they happened to be visiting experts who'd given one of the most fascinating lectures Ethan had ever heard the afternoon before. On the reception afterwards, he'd hoped that perhaps he'd be able to exchange a few words with Dr. Durona, but, as he could have known, many of his colleagues had had the same hope, which resulted in Ethan not succeeding to come even close enough to overhear the undoubtedly brilliant answers the man gave to other people's questions.

Naturally, he'd made inquiries at work the next morning, yet the results of that had been most unsatisfactory, since most of his co-workers didn't even seem to remember what they'd spoken about. In fact, some of them seemed to take offense at Ethan's queries, considering them to be inspired by bitterness and spite over not having met Dr. Durona himself, rather than a professional curiosity.

"I'll miss you," Janos said. Both the words and the sentiment they expressed came so unexpectedly to Ethan that it took him a few seconds to process them completely.

Though Janos was one of the few people he felt at ease with in any situation, he'd always assumed the feeling to be one-sided. Janos had an easy charm to his character that made people like him at first sight and that, Ethan had to admit, enabled him to get away with much more slacking than would be proper.

"Oh." Ethan wished he could come up with a more eloquent response.

"You were a nice break from the routine," Janos added. "I mean, it's all so boring around here. Nothing new ever happens. And nobody cares! They're all perfectly happy with getting to do the same thing day after day!"

"Oh," Ethan repeated, wondering if he should consider this explanation insulting or not. Being appreciated merely because he wasn't among the usual workforce of the fish farm anymore wasn't exactly flattering, Ethan supposed.

"I wish you'd - " Janos began, before shaking his head, apparently concluding that whatever wish he'd been about to make was an impossible one to fulfill.

"You could ... come with me," Ethan offered shyly. "As a kind of vacation, I mean," he continued hurriedly, not wanting to give Janos the wrong impression. After all, if the fish farm bored Janos, he certainly wouldn't want to spend too long with someone as dull and unexciting as Ethan. "You could stay for any period you'd want. Maybe just a month. Or a week. If you could be spared."

It would be enjoyable to share his apartment with someone who knew him as well as Janos. Someone who he could talk to without having to fear being misunderstood or having his motives being misinterpreted. Someone who'd perhaps, one day, agree to raise a little boy with him, once they'd both have gained enough social duty credits.

"Really?" Janos' eyes lit up, as if Ethan had offered him, well, his dearest wish, instead of what he had. "That'd be awesome. I've always wanted to go to the city."

Ethan frowned, a little taken aback. Janos was acting like he was desperately unhappy here, like he was being held prisoner here. Which definitely wasn't true; Ethan knew that for a fact from first-hand experience. When he'd left to study Biology, nobody had objected.

On the contrary; everyone had wished him the very best, providing him with loads of good advise as well as more substantial help in the form of clothes and such. Had Janos been a vital part of the workforce, things might have been different, but from what Ethan had seen these past days, Janos was better at avoiding work than actually *doing* it.

Still, who was he to stare a gift-horse in the mouth? He'd wanted Janos to come with him. And now it turned out Janos had wanted to come with him as well.

"That's settled then." Ethan nodded contentedly. "Though you'll need to pack in a hurry; I intended to leave first thing in the morning tomorrow."

Janos snorted. "It's not like there's that much I want to take with me."

"Well, you might want to say goodbye to everyone. That'll take time too," Ethan pointed out. "Unless you want to tell them during dinner. Most of them will be there." Personally, Ethan had said his farewells in private, not wishing to make a 'public spectacle' of himself by giving a speech during the communal evening-meal, but Janos might not mind.

"I can do that at breakfast." Janos waved his words away, leaning back. Ethan absently noted that Janos'd probably need to wash his hair again, to get the sand out of it.

"We should probably go back now. Dusk isn't that far off," Ethan suggested.

"I'm not that hungry. Besides, don't you want to watch the sunset? Here, with me?" Janos grinned at him. "I'm sure we could find something to do until then."

The practical part of Ethan's mind pointed out that it was determinedly unhealthy to skip a meal. And that he'd be able to enjoy what Janos was offering him just as well at home or at his apartment in Sevarin as on a beach, where it'd be cold after dusk. Not to mention sandy.

Janos rose, imperatively holding out his hand. Ethan took it with a soft sigh, reasoning that there was no real reason not to.

Besides, he'd always liked beaches, and he'd said himself that there were no beaches in Sevarin.

*

[First Lady Of Athos]

*

The widely respected and praised Dr. Ethan Urquhart was actually a pervert of the worst kind.

That was the conclusion Janos drew on a rainy afternoon, after several hours of careful observation.

He'd intended to drop by as a surprise, but for some reason his attention had been captured by the scene that played itself out before him, and with Ethan being too busy to notice his visitor, standing frozen in the doorway, Janos had been able to see far more than he'd ever wanted to see.

Sure, he himself had tried out some kinky stuff, read a few magazines that respectable citizens would frown upon, and even a few that were outright illegal, yet he'd never lowered himself to _this_.

He'd never made love to a woman.

Of course, such a thing was somewhat hard to do, considering the population of Athos was strictly male, and that even the *word* 'woman' was only known to Janos from a book that Nick had managed to get from a guy who knew a guy who was living with a guy who worked at Immigration. Still, Janos was reasonably sure that no rational, self-respecting person would want to have anything to do with a woman, even if there'd been any on Athos.

It simply wasn't _done_ , to quote that hypocrite of an Ethan.

It was disgusting and unnatural, to quote a friend of Nick's who liked to think of himself as well-informed.

Yet here he was, unwilling witness to the person who he tended to think of as his partner, doing something utterly wicked and immoral, without even seeming to feel a single pang of conscience.

In fact, if there was any emotion to be read from Ethan's face, Janos would use words like 'ecstatic' and 'enraptured'. Had Ethan been with another man, he might have felt threatened; at this moment, Ethan looked happier than Janos had ever seen him even during sex.

Which was just plain wrong.

It made Janos regret not having taken Nick up on his not-so-subtle offer to spend a night at his place 'to watch a movie about this really sort guy who's actually the heir of some aristocratic family but ends up as the commander of a bunch of mercenaries'. Nick had gotten it from the same friend who'd provided him with the other illegal stuff.

He claimed the movie was actually about a real person, which just went to prove that Nick wasn't the brightest crayon in the box, in Janos' opinion. Stuff like that didn't happen anywhere else than in vids and books.

Of course, if anyone would have told him he'd ever walk in on Ethan making love to a woman, he wouldn't have believed them either.

At last Janos wasn't able to take it anymore. He coughed.

Softly, since his throat didn't seem to be functioning properly.

Ethan happily went on ignoring him.

Janos coughed again, louder this time, using his anger to override his embarrassment. Because, hell, if anyone was to be embarrassed by this, it should be Ethan, not him.

Ethan looked up, blinking in surprise as he recognized Janos.

"Janos? What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at work? Don't tell me you got fired again!"

Counting to ten, Janos wondered what would happen if he'd yell 'My partner is more in love with his pet ovarian cultures than with me!'. Quite likely, he'd be removed by security.

"I wanted to see you," he declared, making sure his tone of voice indicated he was Displeased.

"Oh." Ethan glanced at the screen of his computer, which showed a set of numbers of which the meaning was a complete mystery to Janos. "Well, I guess I could take a break. A small one."

"No need," Janos hastily replied. "I'm sure your work's important." 'More so than me', he didn't add.

Ethan beamed at him. "We're about to make a breakthrough in our research." A lengthy explanation of what this research was about and what said breakthrough would mean for Athos followed. Janos didn't bother to try to understand or even listen to it.

"I'd better go now," Janos managed to put in, when Ethan took a pause to breathe. "Maybe I can prepare dinner or something." He didn't really think of himself as a skilled cook, but Ethan had assured him he was good in the kitchen on the rare occasions he'd made meals.

"Hmm." Ethan had already turned back to his computer. "Don't count on me; I'll probably be home a bit late."

Janos managed not to slam the door on his way out.

Walking through the corridors of the Reproduction Center, spotting men with much the same expression as Ethan's on their faces, Janos bitterly remembered something else he'd read in one of Nick's books.

Originally, 'science' had been a female word, depicted by a woman holding a scroll.

And in spite of the best intentions of the Founding Fathers, who'd wanted to create a world free of the dangerous and corrupt influences of the female gender, they'd overlooked this one thing.

They'd overlooked the fact that the top-layer of their ideal population was utterly enslaved by a woman.

It was almost enough to make Janos believe there was a God. Because Someone Up There had to be laughing his head off at Athos.

*

[A Piece Of Heaven With Marmalade]

*

Ethan's first thought as he woke up was that something was wrong. He wasn't quite sure *what*, but he did have a strong urge to jump up and get out of bed *right now* before -

"I overslept." How could that have happened? Surely he should have been woken by his alarm-clock, or, failing that, by Janos?

Turning around, Ethan noticed the other person who was lying curled up on the other side of the bed, making sounds that were barely soft enough to escape being called snores. For one irrational moment, he thought that it'd be an absolute shame to wake Janos up, considering the contented smile on his face.

Then reason kicked back in, prompting him to grab Janos and shake him, wasting another precious minute that he could have used to get dressed. He supposed it didn't really make much of a difference tough, considering he already was two *hours* late.

Ethan moaned in despair, knowing he'd probably missed at least four appointments already. It'd take him *years* to undo the damage to his reputation! Every medic knew that people'd rarely bothered to praise you for a job well done, but slip up once, and you'd hear about it for ages.

"Will you wake up already!" Ethan groaned, as Janos miraculously seemed to be still asleep, in spite of is efforts. His gaze darted around the room, noting he'd at least remembered to hang up some clothes to wear. Even if they seemed a little casual for work, they'd have to do.

"What for?" Janos inquired, finally opening his eyes to glare at Ethan.

"You need to go to work, of course!" Ethan replied exasperatedly. Was he the only one with a sense of responsibility around here?

"I took a day off. So leave me alone, will you?" Janos turned his back to Ethan, seemingly fully intending to go back to sleep.

"Well, then *I* need to go to work. And I'd appreciate it if you could lend a hand. Prepare breakfast or something. I don't think that's too much to ask," Ethan stated firmly, reaching out to grab Janos' shoulder and prevent him from dozing off again.

"You took a day off too," Janos informed him, swatting at Ethan's hand. "So relax a little. Nobody's going to be late for anything."

"I ... I did?" Ethan asked, puzzledly. He couldn't for the life of him think of any reason for him to do something like that. After all, he loved his job. Unlike Janos, it seemed. Absently releasing Janos, he tried to remember if there was anything special about today. "Uhm, would you happen to know why?"

Janos stared at him, apparently considering whether or not he'd forgiven Ethan for waking him so rudely on a free day. "Yes, it so happens I do know that," he replied finally.

Ethan swallowed a bit of his pride, making a mental note to do something to apologize more properly than he could right now. After all, he did know Janos appreciated his sleep. He should have recalled Janos having taken a day off.

"Do you think you could share that knowledge with me?" Ethan inquired humbly.

"What's it worth to you?" Janos grinned, his eyes sparkling and anything but sleepy. Ethan scowled at him, though there was little true malice in the gesture. "Oh, all right. You made an appointment with that lightflyer-producer today."

"I forgot." Ethan blinked. It seemed like only yesterday that he'd called Brother Wright to be told there was no empty spot on the man's calendar for the next few months. Of course, there'd been those problems with the new Junior-member of their team having an allergy that made him sneeze any time he entered the laboratory, and then - well, he *had* been very busy recently.

"Oh, goody, I remembered something that the esteemed Doctor Urquhart didn't. I must call the news to report this unique event." Janos snorted. "Can I go back to sleep now?"

"Uhm, yes, of course. Sorry," Ethan apologized, still lost in recollections of the hectic past few weeks.

After a while, he concluded that, indeed, today was the day he'd made the appointment. He'd asked for it to take place in the afternoon, knowing that Janos would want to accompany him. He hadn't, Ethan realized slightly embarrassed, considered if Janos would be able to get an extra free day from his boss.

Janos didn't volunteer much information about his work, but from the small things he'd told Ethan every now and then, Ethan concluded Janos didn't have the most friendly of relationships with his employer. He hoped that he hadn't involuntarily made things worse.

"Ethan?" Janos sounded plaintive.

"I said I was sorry," Ethan answered defensively, more because he was angry with himself than because of Janos.

"Hmm. Are you sorry enough to make me breakfast in bed?" Janos asked.

Ethan sighed. "I guess."

"Of course, if you're not hungry, we could also just stay right here. I wouldn't mind," Janos declared, dragging Ethan back to his side of the bed as he rose to reach for his clothes.

"I thought you wanted to sleep some more," Ethan remarked, not really minding all that much that Janos had seemingly changed his mind.

"Yes, but I can do that later too," Janos explained. "If I let you get up, I just know you're going to do something stuffy and scientific and ignore me for the rest of the morning. And I don't like to be ignored."

Ethan rolled his eyes, tempted to defend his calling, but deciding to let it slip in favor of things that were closer at hand. Besides, he doubted if he'd ever be able to convince Janos of anything.

 


End file.
